Down Under

On New Year's Day we flew to Perth. We love going to Perth and especially the Margaret River area, which is about 3oo km south of Perth. Last time we went there it was 3 years ago with the Merritts and the Murgys. This time it was just us.

Since this is the middle of the Australian summer we were expecting hot weather, but when we arrived it was surprisingly cool. The first 2 nights we were at an apartment in Perth. The location was just perfect; near the river, close to a park and with shops and restarants around the corner.

We met up with Butch, Lorly and Mariska and also Tom Bartlett paid us a visit, which was really nice.

On Jan 3 we drove south to the house, called 'Casa del Franco', that we had rented near Margaret River. It was a beautiful spacious house with a huge garden, a great view from which we could spot kangaroos in the distance and with all the luxury items that we could hacve hoped for. (including a DVD player, which is absolutely crucial to have if we want Noah to be quiet for an hour or so...)

The house was in between the town and the beach.

The first 3 days it was pretty chilly and we even had the fireplace going. Noah loved it and wanted to chop wood with me three times a day or so. Later the weather became warm and sunny and we had some great beach days as well.

What did we do? Well....Lots of things! We took the kids to an animal farm, went to playgrounds, went to an indoor swimming pool (since the ocean water was freezing cold), checked out the kangaroos, took Noah into one of the many caves, went on walks and drives and of course relaxed and enjoyed the fresh air, the beautiful Aussie wines and the great cappuchino's in town.

It was hard to leave this place and to drive back to Perth. In Perth we did some last minute shopping before flying back to Jakarta the following day.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY !!